Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Junior/Senior Initiatives 2008-09

Social Research Lab Upgrade

The number of undergraduate majors has grown substantially in the last three years. By upgrading our lab facilities, we will be able to accommodate 50 percent more social research methods students per semester, thereby facilitating timely completion of their major requirements. The upgrade to a multi-use lab also allows us to maintain the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview Lab, which provides undergraduates with paid work and learning experience involving emerging social research technologies. These expenditures impact all of our 250-plus majors.

Secondarily, the upgrades to Brackett 124 have facilitated the transformation of Brackett 131, the previous social research lab, into an anthropology lab. This will directly enhance the learning experiences of our three dozen anthropology minors and the 45 students per semester who take ANTH 351, “Physical Anthropology.” It also paves the way for the development of a forensics anthropology course, which has been requested by many students both within and outside the department.

Undergraduate Research Presentations

Each year approximately forty majors present summaries of their original research at regional and national anthropology, criminal justice, and sociology professional meetings.

Paid Internships

Each academic year dozens of our students participate in internships at not-for-profit agencies throughout the Upstate. These agencies often desire that these students implement research projects including organizational analyses, needs-assessments and program evaluations. Funds will support paid internships during which outstanding students collaboratively develop and complete a research project with their host agency. This allocation will impact up to ten students per academic year.

Enhanced Departmental Speaker Series: “Hearing It From the Source

To facilitate and promote focused career development in our majors, nationally recognized scholars are brought to campus as a part of a departmental speaker series to discuss their work. The first speaker will be Alejandro Portes of Princeton University. Since Portes’ work focuses on the assimilation and the entrepreneurial activities of first and second-generation immigrants, the presentation should have broad appeal to behavioral science and business students across the College.

Professional Development of Students Through Support of Alpha Kappa Delta.

The Department employs Junior/Senior funds to enhance the undergraduate educational experience of our top junior and senior majors by helping to fund their membership in Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), the international sociology honor society. This will impact approximately fifty of our majors.

Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Funds for assistantships for two undergraduate students to work with graduate students on Spiro Institute service learning projects.This program fits squarely with the university’s emphasis on providing substantial research experiences for undergraduate students. The experience with our first four undergraduate research assistants was extremely positive, from both our perspective and theirs. These undergraduate research assistantships provide students with the opportunity to work side-by-side with our graduate assistants on a wide variety of “real-world” research projects.
Funds for the Celebration of Clemson Alumni Entrepreneurs event. This annual spring event features successful Clemson alumni entrepreneurs who tell their stories and interact with students during a special evening event in Greenville. All students are invited to attend the event and reception free of charge, and we provide bus transportation. The event is actively promoted to CBBS students, particularly to those enrolled in ELE 301 and 401 and those enrolled in upper level marketing and management classes. In addition, we promote the event aggressively to the Upstate business community in order to provide students with a high-level networking opportunity during the event reception. The requested funds will be used to help rent the venue in Greenville, to offer a networking reception with heavy refreshments for the students and to provide transportation for students to the event.
Funds for the Clemson University Master Panel of Entrepreneurs event. This annual fall event features successful finalists and winners from the annual Ernst & Young Carolinas Entrepreneur of the Year competition. Like the Celebration of Clemson Alumni Entrepreneurs, this event is offered to all students free of charge and it is actively promoted to CBBS students, particularly to those enrolled in ELE 301 and 401 and those enrolled in upper level marketing and management classes. This event also provides students with a high-level networking opportunity during the event reception. The requested funds will be used to help rent the venue in Greenville, to offer a networking reception with heavy refreshments for the students and to provide transportation for students to the event.

Past Enhancements

Opportunity: Enhance undergraduate research by providing financial support to sociology and anthropology majors who present original research at state-wide and regional meetings.
Investment: Allow 20 students to apply for funds to offset their travel and accommodation expenses. A faculty committee would evaluate the proposals.
Outcome: Fourteen students presented at four different venues under the supervision of Drs. Britz, Coggeshall and Vander Mey.
Opportunity: Provide paid internships to student working in not-for-profit agencies desiring needs-assessment or program evaluation research.
Investment: Student would contract with agency to do a relevant study--for example, performing a “Consumer Satisfaction study” for a mental health clinic or juvenile justice agency. Ten studies would be funded. Payment would be tied to the timely completion of quality deliverable.
Outcome: Seven students completed paid internships. Click here for listing.
Opportunity: Offer special “Policing” course, Soc 491, which is taught by a Lieutenant from the Greenville Sheriff’s Department.
Investment: Course would included approximately twenty-five students.
Outcome: Approximately twenty-five students took the course.

Spring 2008

Opportunity: Offer two capstone seminars that aid seniors in transition from undergraduate experience into professional life and/or graduate & professional education. Also provides a basic mechanism for e-portfolio review and evaluation.
Outcome: Course not scheduled—curriculum was late in being developed. No expenditures for this course.
Opportunity: Offer Soc 480 – Medical Sociology. This course was specifically requested by the Departmental Student Advisory Council.
Outcome: Course offered using regular faculty drawing 34 students (at 8 a.m.)